Nativity
by LostinOblivion
Summary: Morgan and Prentiss get stranded after a car accident in the snow-covered mountains of West Virginia. Set in Christmas 2013. Established Morgan/Prentiss.
1. Chapter 1

Morgan glanced from the road ahead toward his right, a smile slowly spreading over his face. Emily was knocked out, her face to one side, mouth open, and one hand resting on her swollen belly. She was always tired now, the baby sapping every once of energy she possessed, but it was worth it. They were going to be parents in a matter of weeks, and Derek was ever surprised to find himself excited rather than terrified.

He turned his eyes back to the road. It was snowing outside, a thick powder that had been getting thicker and steadier over the last few hours. Morgan wasn't worried yet, though he was keeping his eyes out for a hotel. Three years ago, he wouldn't have been so cautious. But three years ago, he wasn't driving around with his very pregnant girlfriend in the passenger seat. Three years ago, he hadn't already buried her once.

The shrill squeal of his cell phone momentarily startled him. Morgan slid the bluetooth piece in his ear and hit send, glancing briefly at the caller ID. "Hey Babygirl, how was your Christmas?"

"Wonderful. Kevin's mother seems to have finally forgiven us for eloping," she answered.

Days after getting back together, the two techs had flown to Las Vegas on a whim and gotten hitched at a Star Trek themed wedding chapel. Garcia had returned flushed with new bride excitement and bitching that Sin City wasn't nerdy enough to have a Dr. Who themed chapel.

"That's good. I bet Kevin was relieved."

Garcia chuckled. "Yes, he was. How about you? Did you get Emily to relax?"

Derek had all but kidnapped his girlfriend two days before Christmas, and driven them deep into the West Virginia mountains where a luxury cabin awaited them. Emily was still working at 38 weeks and was doing fine, but he still worried. The woman never slowed down, not after coming back from the dead, nor after moving to London, and not after moving back to the states after discovering she was pregnant.

"I did, though I think the hot tub helped. My girl is a sucker for hot tubs."

"I could have powered that hot tub with how gassy I've been," a sleepy voice commented from beside him.

He smiled and looked over. "I hadn't noticed, beautiful."

She pried her eyes open, and shifted more upright, one had still holding her belly. "You couldn't _not_ have noticed. You're just too much of a gentleman to admit it." She looked at the phone. "Hey, Garcia."

"Did you hear that?" He asked the tech.

"Not really." Morgan switched over to speaker.

"Hey, Garcia," Emily repeated.

"Hey, Em. Do you still plan to file kidnapping charges against that yummy hunk of milk chocolate?"

Emily glanced at him, her eyes soft and warm. "No, I've decided that he earned a reprieve."

Penelope chuckled. "Sounds like the trip was a good idea."

"Yes, I admit it, I needed a little break."

Morgan listened to the two women chat, as he gazed out the windshield. The wind was picking up, and whipping the snow around dangerously. He'd seen this dozens of times in Chicago. Watching that snow whip around in the breeze, he knew exactly what was coming. He waved a hand at Emily to cut off the conversation.

"Hey babygirl, snag one of your toys for me, and trace my cell. And do it quick, I think the connection is going to cut-out any minute."

"What's going on," she asked, though he could hear her moving around.

"Blizzard is kicking up. Get our coordinates in case we lost or stuck, okay?"

"On it now."

"You're worried."

He shot Emily a smile. "Just being cautious. Precious cargo and all."

Ear-bursting static suddenly erupted into the car, and Morgan quickly turned down the dial, only seconds before the call disconnected. "Great," he muttered.

"Well, it is the end of December and we are driving through mountains."

"I know. Yell if you see a hotel," he said.

"Will do." She rested her hand on his thigh then, giving it a gentle squeeze.

They were barely on the road for another twenty minutes when the visibility went from bad to practically nonexistent. He struggled to even find the shoulder, so that he could pull over and wait for the worst to pass. He thought he had until the car jolted, and a sickening crunch began somewhere beneath the front bumper and moved back as the car shook it's way to a stop. The car sputtered for several seconds and died with little finesse.

"Fuck." His arms still clutched the wheel uselessly.

"Yep."

Derek turned to Emily. One hand was on her belly, the other bracing herself against the dash. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. You?"

"As long as you're okay, I'm okay."

She smiled, but there was worry under it. "Well, I'd say we're both pretty well screwed."

"We'll be fine. If we don't open the doors, we can keep the heat locked in, and that should work for a couple hours at least. Hopefully, the storm will die down by then, and I can see about fixing the car."

"Derek, I love your optimism, but I don't think is going to be fixable without an autoshop."

"We'll be fine." He glanced behind himself. "Do you think you could slide into the back?"

She blinked. "I can't even sit down to pee with any level of grace these days. I'm afraid sliding is out of the question."

* * *

Emily nuzzled closer against Derek's warmth. The car had steadily cooled until it was only marginally warmer than outside. They'd bundled back up in their winter coats and accessories, and Derek had slid himself behind her on the passenger's seat. They were pushed as far back as the seat would go, and it was still very tight. If not for her stomach, they'd have been fine. At least it kept them a bit warmer though.

The storm was slowing down, though that it was going at a snail's speed. Emily was worried, but managing to keep full-out panic at bay. Yes, this was a very bad situation, but they'd had cell reception before the storm swallowed it, and hopefully, they'd get it again when the storm died. And they were talking to Garcia minutes before crashing, and she was lightening with a keyboard, she must have gotten their location. As soon as it was safe, help would be on the way.

"Emily, look."

She picked her head off her chest to follow his finger to what appeared to be a house in the distance. A house with a small barn. Both were barely visible, being painted a light blue or grey color. Weren't barns supposed to be red?

"You think anyone lives there?"

He shook his head. "Land looks too overgrown."

Her brief hope sunk. Morgan nudged her. "It's still a house, and there's probably a fireplace in there. I see a chimney."

"You think the storm's died down enough to go out?" Emily asked.

Morgan was silent several seconds, then his arms tightened around her. "I'll go out and check it out, you stay here and keep warm."

Emily tensed. "No."

"What?"

"No. We go out together or we stay together."

"Emily, you need to keep warm. You need to keep _our baby_ warm," he said.

"The baby is fine. So am I, and I'm not sitting in here and watching you walk off alone."

He exhaled, frustration leaking out of him. Then he simply shook his head. "Fine, but I'm grabbing our bags and the first aid kit from the trunk before we head over."

Emily didn't argue that point. If he wanted to be super prepared, she wasn't going to stop him. They managed to get themselves out of the car and Morgan grabbed the bags and kit from the trunk. The snow already up to her shins, and that with her belly, made the walk to the house slow and incredibly awkward. She clutched Derek's arm just to keep herself upright. When they finally made it to the house, Emily sighed with relief.

When they opened the door, it became clear that this was not the sanctuary they imaged.

The wind still whistled inside.

They began to inspect the place, drifting away from each other. The living room looked alright, though the fireplace was a mess and there were animal dropping-covered sheets draped over everything. The kitchen, however, was a big problem.

French doors led out to the back porch from the kitchen, except there were no doors, only the gutted hole where they belonged. That explained the wind and animal feces.

"Uh, Em. I don't think this place is going to work out."

"What gave you your first clue?" She nodded to the doorway as he approached.

He sighed. "The dining room. You can see clear through to the sky. It looks like the roof collapsed and the pressure collapsed the second floor into the dining room."

"Great. Now what do we do?"

"We could try to clear out a room and barricade it against the cold…"

She looked at him. "Or?"

"The barn was intact."

"The barn doesn't have a fireplace," she said.

Derek almost chuckled. "Yeah, I don't think this place has much of one either. The one in the living room's fallen apart. I might be able to rig something in the barn."

"You sound like you'd much prefer the barn."

"I don't like you near all this animal crap. Some of it's rodent, and that can make you sick." He made a face as he nodded toward the house.

"You think the barn will be any better?"

He shrugged. "Could it be more disgusting that this place?"

"Fair point. Okay, I guess we're going to the barn." With a sigh, she grabbed the arm he offered, and waddled her way back through the way she'd come.

The walk to the barn was fairly short, and after some huffing, puffing and cursing from Morgan, he got it to slide open enough to let them inside.

All things considered, it didn't look terrible. It was a small barn with a couple of stalls on one end, and a tractor parked and a shop area on the other side. It was largely open in the middle. Emily turned to Derek, and saw his eyes darting around as his brain worked.

"So," she asked. "What's the plan?"

"I say we set up in one of the stalls. It's a smaller area to keep warm. There's scrap wood and tools I can even make it warmer for us. That metal basin is our fireplace." He pointed to a large wash basin that was sitting against the wall with the sliding door.

"OK, survival man. Tell me what you need me to do."

* * *

_So while in grad school, I've been working as a nanny. The family I was working for in December was highly religious, so many of the baby books they had were Bible stories. This popped into my head while I was reading the baby the story of Christmas, and it kept getting longer and longer and hard to finish. That's why I'm posting it after Christmas. I think it will be four parts. _

_Thank you for reading and review always welcome. Happy New Year, everyone!_


	2. Chapter 2

Morgan hated that he left her alone in that barn, but he needed to see if there was anything salvageable in the house. He rummaged through the house, while Emily rummaged through the barn. He told her to find him some nails, a hammer, and a saw. He had made her promise that she wouldn't try to carry or move anything heavy. Then he'd left for the disgusting old house.

Morgan located a bag first. There was a crappy duffel in closet upstairs that seemed to be free of animal shit. He filled it with clothing from one of the dressers, everything that was clean, which appeared to be most of it. At least clean of animal crap. He found a pack of matches, but they looked like they'd gotten soaked at some point, so he kept looking. He moved through the house as quickly as he could, dropping things into the bag, and others onto the floor with great disgust.

It took a few trips. He dropped the bag and an old (but functioning) kerosene lamp at the barn and made a second trip for some blankets he found sealed safely in an old chest, and then returned for the last time for the dining room table. He had big plans for that table.

When he arrived at the barn for the last time, Emily was sweeping out one of the stalls. It looked so domestic, Derek had to smile. She'd been too busy with work to do much "nesting" as they called it. Of course, that didn't stop her from climbing out of bed at two in the morning to make sure the nursery was organized as she wanted it. When he asked JJ about it, his friend has explained that Emily was probably getting too uncomfortable to sleep very much.

"So, what's with the table?" She had stopped and focused on him.

"I'm going to cut it up, and use it to cover up the gaps." He maneuvered the table in, leaning it against a wall, sweat pricking the back of his neck, chilling him.

Emily nodded, and that was it. The two of them immediately set off to work. Within a few hours they'd made considerable progress.

The gaps were boarded-up, and the clothes were shoved along the edges of the stall where the walls met the floor for added insulation. Emily had started a fire in the big bucket with scrap wood, booze and a kitchen lighter. The kerosene lamp was glowing as brightly as could be expected, and Emily had found an extra can of kerosene amongst the tools. All in all, things could be far worse.

Of course, the storm was still blowing and getting worse again after it's brief lull. Morgan stood by sliding door and stared out at the still falling snow. This was not how he envisioned their trip home, but he was hoping that the storm would clear up overnight. Even if Garcia had gotten their location, no one could come get them in this weather; they were stuck until the storm passed.

He turned around, and found Emily slightly bent over by the stalls. One hand was a wall, the other on her belly. After a few seconds, she breathed out, stood up and started to walk. Feeling his eyes on her, she turned and met his eyes.

"Don't start panicking yet, it was probably just false labor. I'm getting to that stage," she said.

"Are you sure?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course, I'm not sure. I've never had a kid before. But…it's happened a few times today, and it went away after walking, so I think I'm good."

Derek walked over to her, and wrapped her in his arms, pressing his lips to the top of her head. "Let's hope. We can rig a temporary shelter, but I don't think we can rig a temporary hospital."

He felt her nuzzle close and seek out his hands. Hers felt like ice. He pulled away. "Your hands are cold. Come on, I found blankets that are pretty clean, we can bundle up."

"How is the little critters didn't get to these blankets?" She asked, as he led her toward their stall by the hand.

"They were in an old chest. Pretty thing too, old-fashioned with some detail work on the edges and feet and a bit of decorative carving on top."

"You sound like you want to keep it."

He grinned. "I wouldn't mind. It was a nice chest. The kind of thing you pass from generation to generation, you know?"

"Sounds nice."

Derek made for the pile of blankets, and attempted to sort through them. A small piece of white fabric fell to the ground. He picked it up squinting. "What is this, a blanket for a mouse?"

Emily took it and smiled. "It's a napkin. It goes with that table cloth."

Morgan stared at the white fabric in his arms. It was delicately embroidered with pearl thread. "Table cloth?"

Emily nodded.

"Oops," he said, then shrugged. "We can just toss that over there then. I just grabbed everything in the chest." He picked up another item. It was thick with various shades of blue in a mix of patterned squares. It looked old. "These I know are blankets. I believe this is what Aunty Yvonne would call a quilt."

"It is indeed." She pointed. "And that one looks knitted or crocheted maybe." It was off-white with green accents. It also looked old.

"What the difference?" He asked.

"I'm the wrong person to ask about that." Emily said, already rummaging through the rest of the pile. Another quilt, not as detailed as the other, and with a white, brown and pink color scheme, and another knitted (or crocheted) blanket, this one blue with white accents. She stood up then, a hand on her back and a grimace on her face.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. It's just, my back is killing me." She paused. "I mean it hasn't felt great in while, since your kid is heavy, but I think our shelter-building has taken a toll."

"My kid?" He said. "Your kid too." Then he began to rub her back.

Emily released a satisfied murmur. "It helps if I can blame someone for my misery, and I can't blame a fetus." She moaned. "Though I may start finding it difficult to blame you too soon."

Derek grinned and pressed his fingers into the areas on her lower back than he knew were usually the worst. After several minutes, he removed his hands, took the thick blue quilt and wrapped it around Emily, much to her amusement. Then he rubbed his hands up and down her arms.

"Are you going to join me in here?" She asked.

"Sure, just let me dig in my bag, I threw the left-over food from the cabin in there." He'd already pulled out a couple bottles of water for them earlier.

"Ooh, food sounds really good right now."

"It should. We left after breakfast and it's already getting dark." He began to pull items out of his bag and set them down on the floor of their stall.

Emily moved to stand almost next to him. "So, chicken and wild rice soup, a can of peas, a box of hot chocolate, three granola bars, and deli turkey and swiss."

"We should eat the turkey and swiss first."

She nodded. "I don't suppose you have a can-opener?"

"Actually…" He reached into his boot, and pulled out his multi-tool.

"That thing has a can opener?"

He grinned. "Yes, Princess. You want the peas or the soup?"

"Peas, please." She handed him the can, and he felt her eyes on him as he opened the tool, and set to work. "Okay, you work on that, I'm going to search through the work bench again, see if I can find spoons or bowls."

* * *

Emily had had no luck with the tools, and instead made burritos with the peas and cheese as the filling and the turkey as the wrapping. It filled them up if nothing else. Derek managed to find a milking bucket (at least she assumed that's what it was), and he washed it with snow before filling it with more snow and bringing it inside by the fire to melt. Water for the morning. They at least could be thankful for that small favor. Plenty of instant water.

"There's got to be two and a half feet out there already, Em, and it's still coming down." He shook his head, and came to sit down next to her.

Emily held open the quilt, and Morgan shimmed to be next to her, wrapping his arms around her. Her back still ached, but leaning against Derek at least took less effort than sitting up. And she couldn't think about why it was aching anyway. She couldn't think about the false labor pains that were unusually regular and more frequent as the day worn on.

She instead, put on a smile. "Well, we've got granola bars for breakfast, soup for lunch, and hopefully, we'll be rescued by dinner."

"Let's hope." Then he shook his head and sighed. "I'm sorry, Emily."

She frowned and turned to him. "For what?"

"What kind of dumbass decides to drag his very, very pregnant girl into the mountains in West Virginia for Christmas and doesn't expect to get trapped in snow?"

Emily rubbed his arm. "Well, I had a very nice time, and I appreciate that dumbass's thoughtfulness."

"I love you."

She turned and pressed her limps to his. "I love you too."

She felt him chuckle against her hair. "Should have known you'd be the one to make me a lovesick fool."

Emily smirked. "The feeling is mutual. Clyde actually told me I look like an idiot the way I smile when you call."

"Yeah, well Easter – " Emily didn't catch the rest of what he was saying, because pain hit her, like a belt tightening around her belly. She squeezed his arm until it passed.

She felt Derek tense beside her. "More false labor?" He asked.

Emily bit her lip, pushing away the tears threatening. "No…No, Derek, I'm pretty sure they're real contractions."

"What?"

She finally gave up lying to herself. "They've been happening too regularly, and they're becoming more frequent."

"How frequent?" He demanded.

"Last one wasn't more than twenty-five minutes ago." She patted his arm. "It's probably going to take a while longer though."

"Until tomorrow night?"

"If we're lucky, sure."

"And if we're not?"

She didn't speak, just shrugged and shook her head. Emily nestled closer and Derek's arms tightened around her. She felt his lips pressed into her hair again. "It's going to be okay," he said.

She wished she believed that.

They sat huddled together, leaning against the interior wall of the stall, for most of the night. The pain began to feel worse with each contraction, the ache starting deep in her back and moving along her midsection to her belly. The two of them stared at their watches like nervous mothers waiting for a late teenager to get home. Emily counted each minute she lost between contractions. When she got down to ten, she bit her lip, a single breath trembling down her throat.

"Derek?"

It was not quite three a.m.

He held her tighter. "Yeah?"

"The baby is coming."

"I know, Princess." He rested his head against hers, his lips brushing her neck, his breath warm on her skin.

A slow, but steady flow of tears began to pour from her eyes, and her body jolted silently.

Being stuck in some dirty old barn while snow piled higher and higher outside, that she could handle. She could deal with waiting days to be rescued; she'd endured hairier situations while working for the CIA. But, delivering a child in a place that could pass for a horror movie setting? No, Emily was not that damn strong.

After a few minutes, she collected herself, taking several deep breaths and wiping the tears from her face. A few minutes was all she had, because Emily wasn't that damn weak either. "I shouldn't have the baby in here, it's going to be a mess."

"Okay, you stay here and rest. I'll get things ready." He got up and started to head out of the stall.

She scoffed. "Get what ready, Derek?"

"Hot water, something to swaddle the baby, I've got the first aid kit, you know, that stuff."

She cocked her head to one side, almost impressed. "We can use the table cloth to swaddle the baby."

He was still a moment, and then returned briefly to capture her lips. "Everything will be okay, Emily. I will make sure we're all okay."

* * *

_I meant to post this earlier, but I've been sick with worst cold I've ever had in my life. Sorry for that delay. Thank you everyone who read, favorited, alerted and especially, reviewed the last chapter!_

_**stormyseas77**: You don't have PMing enabled, so I'll answer your questions here. As to the Big Words sequel, I'm having great difficulty with it, but I'm still working on it. As to how they got together post-BAU, I'm not sure. I have an idea for a one-shot, but it will only get written if I can get other stories done, the first of which is the Big Words sequel (I have to discipline myself somehow). And yes, I did notice that this was the fourth time I've stranded these two, but what can I say, it makes for an interesting tale, and you all seem to like it so much. :) Thanks for the review!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry for the delay in updating. I started my internship this weekend, and the security is kind of crazy, so I wasn't even sure I'd be able to post stories at all while I was interning. That was part of the delay, the other part was having very little time this week. And, I'm a little sleep-deprived now, so I apologize if the editing is poor. Thanks very much for reading and for all the reviews I've received!_

* * *

Emily spent the next few hours sitting and then laying, trying to keep labor at bay. Part of her wondered why she was bothering. No one was getting to them any time soon, certainly not before the baby came. She told herself that she needed to keep as relaxed and calm as possible to make sure the baby arrived safely. That's what got her to lie down on the ground, huddled under the thick quilt, and close her eyes. She didn't try to sleep though, the contractions hurt too much to bothering trying to do that.

She was in the midst of riding through a contraction when Derek appeared. He moved as if to touch her, but Emily waved him off. When it passed she looked up at him. "How's it going?"

"Good, I'd say. How many minutes do you have between contractions?"

"About eight. Water hasn't broken yet though. Can you check to see how much I've dilated?"

"Uh sure." He knelt down the lifted the blanket, which was the only thing covering her now. She'd taken her pants off earlier, the first time he checked her. "Two fingers now."

"Four centimeters," she said. "Water should break any minute now."

He nodded. "How about we get you to my nice little set-up then?"

Derek helped her to her feet, holding the blanket around her, and kept an arm around her as they walked out of the stall. She saw all the work he'd done, and tears welled in her eyes. He'd found a brown tarp, and laid it out on the floor, and that was where he led her to and helped her sit. It was close to the fire, to keep them both warm, since she was half naked and Derek had removed his coat. The coats needed to be dry to sleep in tonight, which meant no sweat.

Beside the tarp was items pulled from the first aid kit, including a package of gloves, alcohol wipes, an emergency blanket, etc, and a some of their shirts. Morgan reached to something on the side and held it up for her. It was one of the cloth napkins, fastened on the sides, by what appeared to be twine.

Emily chuckled. "You made diapers."

He smiled proudly. "I did indeed. I told you I'd get things ready. And look at this." He got up and brought over what appeared to be a wooden food trough with some of their clothing placed neatly inside.

"What is it?"

"A bed for the baby."

"Oh," she said. "That's creative – " Then something occurred to her and Emily abruptly began shaking her head. "No. Un Uh. Hell no."

Derek's eyebrows shot up. "I know it isn't very pretty, but – "

She cut him off. "I am not giving birth in a barn and putting the baby in a manger. Not happening."

It took him a minute to make the connection, and then he just laughed. "Okay, so maybe it's a little biblical, but well, you know what they say, beggars can't be choosers."

Emily groaned. "Please tell that this is not actually happening?"

He didn't get to say anything though, because a contraction hit and Emily was focused on riding through it. This was pure insanity, but it wasn't like they had another option. When the contraction passed, Emily sat breathing deeply on the old tarp, and looked up at Derek. "Let's do this then."

* * *

Emily's contractions stayed at the same infuriating pace for the next three hours. Then her water finally broke, and everything began happening more quickly. Too quickly for Derek to grasp. It took barely an hour for her to dilate the next six centimeters, and for her contractions to come fast and furious. Within another twenty minutes, she was crowning, and Derek was feeling painfully inadequate. He was so inadequate, he couldn't find the words to describe the sight before him.

"Babe, give me your hand." He reached toward her.

"What?" Emily said.

Derek just waved his hand at her until she reached over and let him take hers. He guided her hand to the baby's gooked-up scalp, resting her fingers gently on their child's head. "You feel that?"

Her eyes wide, mouth slightly open, she nodded. Tears pricked her eyes. "Is that…?"

He smiled. "That's our baby."

"Oh my god."

Her expression changed suddenly as she was struck with pain. She yanked her hand back, and used it to help brace herself against the floor. She screamed.

Every time she screamed, his heart lodged a bit more solidly in his throat. At a hospital he might have been able to deal with it, but here, where he was the only thing that could help her, it made him sick.

What if he fucked up?

"You're doing good, Emily. Really good. The head's out a bit more. I think the kid's got your hair." His skin tone though. Even now he could make out the contrast between Emily's very fair skin, and their child's darker mocha.

She whimpered, her head drifting back and forth in a weak effort at shaking it. "I can't take another twenty minutes of this, Derek. I just can't take it."

"Yes, you can. I know you, Emily. You are strong enough to will your way through anything."

And she did. Over that twenty minutes, he watched his child's head slowly emerge from her body. Kneeled in between her legs with Emily squeezing both his hands, Derek cocked his head and slowly watched his child's face came into view for the first time. The conehead initially surprised him until he remembered that it was normal, and his heartbeat got a little closer to regular as he saw each normal, healthy feature appear.

The head finally came out with a wet pop, goo-covered with blood and fluids dripping from it. Emily released his hands and rested back on the ground.

"You did it, Em! The baby's head is out!"

"That's it? Just the damn head?" She was breathing rapidly, sucking in oxygen and her chest was heaving with all the effort. Her hair was slicked to her head, her face cherry-red from her exertion.

Derek barely managed not to laugh. "Yes, sweetheart. The rest should be over soon."

"Easy for you to say." But she pushed herself up, grabbing a knee with each hand, and prepared to push some more.

When the next contraction hit the show began again, and the rest happened at a furious speed that left Derek struggling to catch his child before she hit the ground.

She.

A slimy, wet, disgusting little creature fell slippery into his hands. Her body was grayish-pink and tensed in the cold air, her skin wrinkled and her face twisted in shock and confusion. And Derek Morgan fell in love with her instantly. He shoved a finger in her mouth to remove the goo, and was pleased when she began to scream.

But he cradled her only briefly in his arms, before placing on top of Emily's stomach. Exhausted though she was, Emily's hands immediately went for the baby, pulling her closer to her chest, and gently holding her there.

"She's a girl, Em," he said. Emily glanced up from the baby, tears already pouring down her cheeks.

She said only. "She's beautiful."

Derek agreed wholeheartedly, though he knew they'd both be saying that even if she looked like Darth Vader (after the volcano).

Derek let Emily bond with the baby while he dealt with the rest. He tied the umbilical cord off with the same twine he'd used to make the diapers, and cut through it with the knife on his multi-tool. The placenta slid out with barely more than a pained grunt from Emily, and he wrapped that in the emergency blanket. He'd put it in the snow to keep from rotting later. Emily had reminded him earlier that keeping the placenta was important in determining the health of the baby, and she wanted to harvest the cord blood.

He used one of the napkins from the set and dunked it in the hot water, and then took the baby from Emily. He could feel her eyes on him as he gently wiped the baby clean, and used a second cloth to dry her. Derek fastened one of the napkin diapers on her, using a second napkin as a liner, swaddled her in the tablecloth, and returned her to Emily. She eagerly took their daughter, her eyes practically glowing in her delight and amazement. Derek pulled his attention away, knowing he head more left to do. He used the same cloth to clean up Emily, and dried her off as well.

He briefly had to take the baby again, so he could help Emily into the pajamas from her bag. Once dressed Emily was quick to go for the baby again, kissing her forehead and holding her close. The baby's fussing immediately calmed down once in her mother's arms. Morgan wasted no time ushering her back into their stall, grabbing the manger and bringing it in with them. He made sure Emily was as comfortable as possible, kissed her cheek and then left the stall again to finish cleaning things up. He ached to hunker down with them, but he needed to deal with the mess.

Derek found horse shampoo in the little alcove that held the tackle and added it to the water basin he'd dumped the boiled water from the milk pail in. Derek let the cloth and some of the clothing they'd worn during the delivery soak while he got rid of the now blood and amniotic fluid filled tarp, cleaned his knife, and gathered unused materials up. Once he'd gotten the laundry reasonably clean, he hung it up on the stall near the fire. He added more wood (which was running a bit low) to the fire, and then was finally able to return to his family.

Emily was leaning against the stall, feeding the baby.

Baby.

She looked up at him, and offered a tired smile. "We did it."

Morgan said nothing, he couldn't find the words. Instead he nodded, sat down beside her, and pulled her into his arms. Emily rested her head beneath his collar bone, and Derek pressed his lips into her hair. Tears bit at his eyes and a soft, shaky gasp emitted from his mouth. Emily didn't say anything, but found his hand and intertwined their fingers.


	4. Chapter 4

Emily woke up hours later to find Derek gone. Darby was tucked, fast asleep in her coat, unperturbed by her father's absence. The Interpol agent pushed herself off the chilly ground, shifting the blankets off her body, and rose to her feet. She groaned with the movement. Her body seemed to ache, and it felt like someone used the Jaws of Life on her vagina. Thankful as she was for her daughter, childbirth was not an activity she planned on repeating. Ever.

She walked toward the door of the stall, one hand on the baby. The fire was still blazing, and everything was so clean, you'd never know that a baby was born there. "Derek?"

She received no response. Her pulse jumped, and with both hands on the baby, Emily grimaced through a brisk walk to the sliding doors. She shoved one open slightly and peered out into the blindingly white landscape. There was at least two feet of snow outside, probably closer to three. Emily saw tracks leading away from the barn, but she dared not follow them. Not with the baby tucked inside her coat, and she wasn't about to leave her behind either.

Fingers trembling, she shut the door again, and turned back toward their stall. The baby started to squirm then, whimpering and fidgeting against her chest. She unzipped her coat, and laid the baby gently on the ground about a foot from the fire. She removed the blanket and Darby screamed when the cold air hit her.

"Shh," Emily cooed. "It's alright, sweetheart. Mommy has to change your diaper, then we'll make you all warm again."

She unfastened the napkin diaper, and removed the extra napkin used as the padding. It was very damp, but not soaked. She folded up another napkin for a pad, refastened the lining, and quickly swaddled the baby again. She cuddled the baby to her chest until she felt her begin to root around. Then Emily attempted to yank her shirt up and try to keep them both warm, which was a resounding failure. With a sigh, she took off her jacket, laid Darby in her jacket and then simply pulled off her top.

The sliding door opened then, and Emily spun around. Derek smiled at her. "Now _that_ is what every man wants to see when he comes home."

"Where were you? You scared the hell out of me when I woke up and you weren't here. And what the hell is that?" Emily scrambled to get her coat on and hold the fussing baby. Derek's hands were full as well, one had his Glock, and the other had what appeared to be an animal carcass.

"This is lunch, and probably dinner too. And I left to get food. How's Darby?"

"Hungry." Emily was holding her jacket closed over the two of them, as Darby drank her meal. "You went hunting?"

"Yeah. It's harder than it looks."

"I'll bet." Then she sighed, and pecked him on the cheek. "I'm sorry if I sounded cranky. You were gone and I was afraid you'd get lost or hurt out there."

Derek found her lips. "It's alright. I'd be worried if you disappeared out there too."

"You know we still have that can of soup, right? And granola bars?"

He nodded. "That won't last long, and we don't know what the weather is going to do. I figured I'd go out while it was clear outside."

Emily didn't want to think about the weather, or however long they might be trapped in the barn. Instead she asked, "So what are we eating?"

Derek hesitated. "I think it best that I don't tell you."

"Derek, come on. I'm not some shrieking girly-girl or PETA activist that is going to rag on you for killing Bambi."

"It's not Bambi."

She ran a hand over the baby's back. "Then what is it?"

He winced as he spoke. "Thumper."

Emily's mouth fell open. Bunny. They were going to eat bunny. She sighed. "Tastes great with shallots and butter."

He chuckled. "You've had rabbit before?"

"It's not uncommon in some European countries, and my mother never would have tolerated me refusing to even try it based on guilt." Elizabeth Prentiss would have scoffed at the very idea, and then undoubtedly made a comment about cows and pigs. She would have had a valid point too.

"Well, I'm sorry to say we have neither shallots nor butter, so it's just going to be roasted over the fire," he said.

"I'll survive. Besides, I'm starving; I'll eat anything cooked."

He chuckled. "I guess I can't blame you, considering all the energy you burned a few hours ago."

"You too," she said. "Don't think I didn't notice or appreciate how driven you've been through this. You didn't panic, you kept me from panicking," she paused and smiled. "You've been perfect, Derek."

He beamed back at her. "I think perfect is a little much, but I'm happy to have made your part a little easier for you."

Emily ran a hand over his back as he set up some sort of contraption over the fire. At some point before she'd woken, he'd fashioned some wooden sticks into two crude "Y" shapes, and stuck the bottoms into two tin cans full of screw or nails, she wasn't sure which. He took a long metal bolt and was shoving it into the already skinned rabbit. She battled between disgust and confusion until she figured out his plan, and both emotions left. "Did you engineer a spit?"

The bolt slid clean through the rabbit, coming out where it's head used to be. Morgan smiled. "I did, I just hope that it holds."

And it did, at least so far.

He washed his hands in the basin, which had fresh water in it, and then turned to Emily. "Can I hold her?"

"Of course," she said quickly. She unzipped her coat, and allowed him to lift the baby off of her chest. She knew Derek hadn't gotten much of a chance to hold their daughter yet, and was happy to give him time to do so. Though her anxiety with their situation was still high, and she felt safest with her daughter pressed close to her body.

"Hey Beautiful," Derek cooed, cradling Darby. She looked even smaller in his strong arms, but safe. There was a gentleness in the way he held Darby, a gentleness that matched the soft light in his eyes.

The baby fidgeted in his arms, squirming and murmuring, her little hands tensed and shifting around. Derek ran a hand over her dark hair, which was already pretty thick, and then braced her against his chest. "Shh," he said. "It's alright sweetheart."

He slid her into his coat, and zipped it up almost to the top. Darby quieted almost instantly. He released a breath, and then turned to Emily with a smile. "She was just cold."

"From what JJ's told me, we'll eventually be able to identify her cries. And that wasn't even a cry, you did good, Derek."

"Did she also mention if we'd eventually feel less like we have no idea what we're doing?"

"Yes, actually." She smirked. "But apparently when that day comes, she'll be in another stage of development and we'll have to learn everything again."

"Wonderful."

* * *

The rabbit wasn't too bad. At least it was hearty enough to keep him moving while he gathered more wood to burn. This was not an easy task. They'd burned through everything in the barn, and he'd had to venture back to the house to search out their wood pile. Before locating the abandoned firewood in the basement, he'd found a raccoon camped out on the sofa in the living room. The creature was so comfortable in the house, it barely paid him a glance.

By the time he'd made a few trips to the house to get wood, the snow was starting again. Derek sighed tiredly as he watched it come down. It felt never-ending. How the hell were they ever going to get out of that damn barn?

He made his was back to the barn, dropping the wood temporarily to open the door. After setting it down, he walked quietly back to their stall and the image made his throat catch. Emily was curled up sleeping under the blankets again, the baby tucked into her coat and hidden from view. She was still exhausted and sore from labor, and what little energy she did have was expended quickly on tending to the baby's needs. Derek had told her repeatedly not to worry, that they'd be fine, and that someone would fine them and get them home as soon as the weather cleared up.

But it didn't really feel that way.

With a shake of his weary head, Morgan blew a kiss at Emily, and headed back out into the rough weather with his gun on one side of his belt and a short handled ax on the other. The cold instantly bit at the exposed skin of his face, and the snowflakes dusted his clothing. Off the path he'd beaten down, the snow was hard to trudge through. It was inches from his waistline, and he wasn't a short man.

How was he supposed to take care of his family with nature fighting so ruthlessly against them? Their makeshift shelter had certainly saved their lives already, but how much longer could they hold out there?

As he pushed through the snow, Derek began to pray silently. It wasn't the first time he'd done so since they become stranded, but now it was with a new sort of desperation and earnestness. _Just protect and save my girls, my precious little Darby and her beautiful mama, _he thought. He wanted more than anything to see his little girl grow-up, but he'd gladly settle for the smaller miracle of his girls surviving. It would be hard for Emily, but the team would rally around her, as would his mama and sisters. She wouldn't be alone, and neither she nor Darby would be wanting.

He could accept that outcome…but nothing less.

It took over of a hour of pushing through the snow to finally lay eyes on his target. Three deer. Two adult females, and a juvenile female who'd probably been born during the springtime. They were walking briskly, probably heading toward shelter after wandering off to find food.

One of the adults stopped, and Derek watched her backside tense. He let her do her business and focused on the other adult. She and the juvenile had stopped to wait for their friend. He aimed at the adult.

It took only one bullet.

Derek Morgan was a damn good shot.

The other two scattered, running away as fast as their legs would carry them. Derek approached the deer, eyes falling sadly on the dead animal.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I prefer to get my meat from the supermarket, but I don't have a choice."

The deer didn't respond.

Derek took his knife and made three strategic cuts so the animal would bleed out quickly. He then took the ax and removed its head, tail and legs. He skinned the animal at a pace quicker than most inexperienced amateurs, but far slower than a pro hunter. He'd felt sick to his stomach knowing that the only reason he could even prepare the animal was the BAU cases. He'd learned plenty about slaughter from his work.

Back at the barn he quickly realized that they were out of basins and buckets, so he buried the butchered deer meat in the snow.

"Oh Jesus," Emily muttered.

He looked up to see her staring at him wide-eyed. He didn't need to glance down to know that she was gaping at his blood-soaked clothing.

"That's far too much blood to be another rabbit."

He shook his head. "Bambi."

She moved closer and rested her hands on either side of his head, pulling him toward her and capturing his lips. It would have been so easy then to melt right into her, to drown in the warmth and affection she offered. But he didn't.

"I've got to change," he said, backing away from her.

She caught his arm. "Derek."

He stopped, eyebrows raised in a question.

"I know it's not easy for you to go out there and play hunter, but I'm grateful that you did."

He walked back toward her and pressed his lips hard to hers in a fierce kiss. "As long as my heart's still beating, I'll do everything in my power to keep you and Darby safe, warm and fed…and I won't regret any of it."

As miserable as it was to kill and slaughter an innocent animal, he'd do it. That deer and rabbit were a small price to pay for their survival.

* * *

The deer lasted them through the next night.

The following morning, the baby woke her up early. Darby was wet and hungry, and Emily set about tending both needs as quickly and efficiently as possible. When she sat back down in their stall, her back against the wall, and presented Darby with her breast, Derek was pushing himself off the floor.

"Morning," he said softly, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

Emily leaned into him. "Good Morning."

She wasn't sure if it was giving birth or being trapped up there, but Emily had been feeling needy for days. She wanted him to hold her, or at least be able to touch him all the time. Derek didn't mind and he didn't question it; truth be told he was probably enjoying her uncharacteristic affection. Not that she wasn't affectionate normally. But Emily hadn't been exposed to a lot of affectionate contact as a child, so she was more comfortable with smaller amounts of it. Except for now.

Maybe she was just scared.

"Alright, I better get out there and look for food," he said.

"You need to eat before you go out there."

"We don't have anything, except for that can of soup, and I'm not eating that." That can had evidently been designated as their last desperate food source.

"Then fill a bottle with water and a couple of those hot chocolate packets."

His eyebrows crowded toward the center of his forehead.

Emily sighed. "You need calories to burn to keep you warm and moving out there."

"Okay, okay," he said, holding up empty hands in defeat.

It would be disgusting, but it would give his body fuel.

Derek drank half of it, his face twisted in disgust and jammed the bottle into his coat pocket. He kissed her goodbye and disappeared.

Emily gently tapped Darby's back until a milk bubble burst from her mouth and then settled back down to sleep. She wasn't out for long though, her body unable to really relax with Derek out there.

When she heard the creek of the sliding door opening, she was both relieved and worried. Derek was home, but he wasn't gone long enough to have found, killed and butchered an animal.

Then she heard a second set of footsteps follow the first.

It wasn't Derek.

* * *

_Thank you all for the reviews, follows and favorites! The next chapter will be the last, and should be longer than the first four. Thanks for reading!_


	5. Chapter 5

Emily's body was tensed and tuned into every sound and change in the air around her. Her breath in her throat, she checked that Darby was secure and scrambled toward her bag for her gun. She flicked off the safety, and pressed her body into the corner opposite the door.

It could be rescuers, but it could be people with far more sinister motives. And her maternal instinct was far too strong at the moment to take any chances.

The footsteps were coming fast and Emily's pulse was pounding through her brain. Her throat was dry, and her finger tense on the trigger when a familiar figure appeared at the stall door.

"Rossi!" A great breath whooshed through her mouth, and she felt tears prick her eyes.

"This is a cozy little place you have here," he said, surveying the place with a smirk. She could see the exhaustion and relief in his eyes though; he'd half-expected to find dead bodies.

"Not the vacation we planned," she played along.

"There's no reception here," Hotch said, appearing with the same look in his eyes. "It's good to see you're okay, Prentiss."

"Thanks. Derek went out hunting." She could see that both men's eyes were rimmed in red and cradled on dark, sagging bags. She wondered if they'd slept at all since Derek's call to Garcia.

"We've got rescuers swarming this place, we'll find him," Rossi said. "In the meantime though, we should think about sending you out with the rescue workers. A doctor should check you out, make sure the baby is okay."

Emily smiled. "Actually, the baby is fine." She approached the two men, gently tugged her zipper down a few inches, and exposed the face of her sleeping daughter.

Rossi's mouth fell open. "You delivered here?"

"Yep. Not exactly what I pictured when the pee strip came up positive, but we all survived."

"Then you really ought to have medical care as soon as possible," Hotch said.

"Bring in EMTs or paramedics if you have them, but I'm not leaving this barn until Derek gets back."

Rossi went to open his mouth, but jogging steps stopped him.

Reid's voice hit her, before she saw his face. "Hotch, Rossi, they said you found them!"

The young man stopped at the sight of her, his mouth fallen open. "You're okay."

Emily nodded, and barely had time to react when Reid practically jumped forward, and wrapped his arms around her. He held her tight until he took note of the mass on her chest, and quickly backed up, eyes wide. She opened her coat again. "This is Darby."

She hadn't even seen Hotch disappear, but she did see him reappear, a man and a woman with him. "Madelyn Taylor and Harvey Marcum, both are rescue paramedics. We'll step outside while they examine you."

Emily nodded, and watched her friends walk back to the center of the barn while the paramedics entered the stall. She had to fight every impulse in her body in order to let the male take Darby, who was awake and confused. She further had to fight every impulse to snatch the baby back when she began to wail from the cold.

Their examination was pretty quick, though it was still thorough. The two paramedics pronounced them both to be very healthy, and noted that Darby scored very high on her APGAR. When they left, Rossi appeared.

"Hey," she said, briefly looking up as she swaddled Darby.

He stroked the baby's cheek, a smile on his lips. Then he sighed. "You should brace yourself for more intense reactions when we get you home."

"You all thought we were dead."

Rossi nodded. "Yes, we did. We knew the gas would have run out by now, and if you couldn't keep warm…" He let it hang.

Emily tucked Darby into her coat and zipped it up, then she walked toward Rossi and hugged him. "We're okay," she said.

The older man sighed. "Thank god for that."

* * *

Morgan sat outside the hospital room in the maternity ward while the doctors checked Emily and the baby over again. He wasn't particularly worried, but the exhaustion of the last few days was catching up with him, and he just wanted to take his family and go home. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Did they even have enough supplies for Darby at home?

He didn't have much time to ponder that before a whirlwind came down the hallway in the form of an exuberant Penelope Garcia flanked by JJ and Blake, who were trying to keep her from totally erupting. They each carried things in their hands, including one wrapped package per person.

"Oh my god, oh my god, you're okay!" The tech dropped the package and diaper bag she was carrying on a plastic hospital chair and wrapped him in one of the tightest hugs he'd ever received.

"How're Emily and the baby?" JJ asked, far more calmly than Garcia, but with a warble in her voice revealing her relief. He disengaged from Garcia and hugged his other friend.

"They're both fine. I'm just waiting on the doctors to figure that out." He nodded at Blake, still not as close to her as the others.

"You delivered the baby yourself?" JJ asked.

Morgan nodded with a little chuckle. "I was so terrified I'd screw up that I almost threw-up once."

"Reid wouldn't tell us what you had, boy or girl?" Garcia practically bounced as she spoke.

He smiled. "A little girl. Darby Rebecca Morgan. She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life."

Hotch returned then, snapping his phone shut. "The tow truck just dropped off your car, Morgan."

"How did you guys find them?" Blake asked. "Spencer said the car was buried."

"The car windows weren't buried, and the sunlight reflected off of one of them. We saw the light and followed it."

The door to Emily's room opened. "Oh, hello everyone," the doctor said. "Uh, I've examined Emily, she seems fine, and considering she gave birth days ago, I'm okay with her going home. Just keep a close eye on her, I already told her what signs should tell her to come back to the hospital. Dr. Warner, the neonatal specialist also finished with the baby, and gave her a clean bill of health. Darby gets the same instructions as Emily. I'll send a nurse with discharge papers."

He'd barely left when the neonatal specialist appeared, nodded and gestured them inside. Garcia squealed as they entered the room, in a state of euphoria from finding them alive and finally getting a niece.

"Hi," Emily greeted, smiling at them. Darby was swaddled in her arms, awake but quiet, her eyes staring up at the ceiling.

"Oh my god, she's so cute I could just eat her up!"

"Well, I'd prefer you not eat her, but would you like to hold her?"

Garcia scoffed. "Do you really need to ask?"

While Garcia basked in the glow of having another little one to gush over, JJ walked to Emily and gave her a tight hug. "You two had us scared for a while."

Emily nodded. "We were pretty freaked too."

After they all took a turn with the baby, Derek took her back to her mother, and that alone seemed to quiet her fussing. He sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the two people he loved most in the world, until his attention was drawn by their three female friends approaching.

"We picked up some stuff from your apartment, and I stocked you guys with diapers. The diaper bag has some too, along with clothes, and we brought the car seat so you can take her home. And Christmas presents for the munchkin."

Emily protested. "But you guys got us shower presents a month ago."

"Well, these are just small. Things we saw when I dragged them with me to pick out diapers. Both of them being mommies, I figured they'd be better than me at picking out appropriate size."

"I tried to tell her that I haven't gone shopping for diapers in fifteen years, but she didn't listen," Blake said, a smile on her face.

"I didn't realize that diaper styles change over time," Garcia said.

"Well, thank you all very much," Emily said.

Morgan nodded. "Yeah, thank you guys, this means a lot."

* * *

Hotch drove them home, to the house Derek had lived in for the last eight years. They were considering moving to somewhere with a bit more space and a bigger backyard, but they'd decided his home was enough for now. The year had been busy, and with the baby coming, they hadn't had time to deal with it.

Hotch turned around to look at them. "The press hasn't gotten wind of this yet. We put out a bulletin that you were both missing, but we haven't released that you've been found. They will find out though, and when they hear that you had the baby in that barn, it will be a big story."

Emily bit her lip, and turned at Derek's eyes on her. He turned back to Hotch. "I think we're spending the next week or so inside anyway."

The Unit Chief nodded. "You'll let us know if you need anything?"

"We will," Emily said. "Thank you, Hotch."

They made their way up the front steps into their apartment, lugging the baby seat, diaper bag, and their bags, into which Emily had jammed the gifts. When they got inside they instantly dropped everything, except the car seat, which Derek sat softly onto the floor. Emily eased the baby out, and turned to him. "You jump in the shower first," she said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Darby is going to want to eat soon." Emily shooed him away, and began dealing with their belongings.

She removed the gifts from their bags, and tossed the bags full of clothing into the laundry room. She carried the baby and diaper bag to the nursery, and tried in vain to figure out what they did with the bassinette. That would be Derek's task when he was done with his shower. When Darby began to root around her chest, Emily gave up with a sigh, and headed toward their bedroom. It was really more Derek's bedroom, but he'd done his best to accommodate her belongings and taste. What she did like was that it had a nice big bed, plenty of fluffy pillows and a bedside table that could accommodate a clock, her Glock and a book. Lamps were built into the wall on either side of the bed, so she could read without disturbing him and vice versa. Emily pushed the door open to the bedroom, and stopped short at what greeted her there.

The bassinette.

JJ and Garcia must have put it together and brought it in here. Emily smiled and turned to Darby. "Look what your aunts did for us."

Darby was interested only in a meal though. Emily shimmied on the bed, and relaxed as the baby drank her early supper. When Derek finished his shower, she handed him the baby and stripped off her clothes on the way to the bathroom. He of course tossed her a comment about how much he enjoyed the peep show.

This was her first shower since giving birth, her first shower in days, and it did wonders for her body. The hot water beating down her back was practically magical in it's work on her sore muscles and joints. Sore from childbirth, sore from the cold, sore from sleeping on hard barn floor the last four nights. She had been lucky in that the post-childbirth bleeding had been minimal, but her groin area still felt like she'd had sex with a jackhammer.

She stayed in the shower probably longer than she should have, but she figured she was making up for the handful that she hadn't been able to take. When she shut the water off, the bathroom was still steamy, and she reveled in the warmth. She dried off quickly and towel-dried her hair, and then walked naked back into the bedroom.

"You know, you keep walking around in your birthday suit, and I may begin to think that's the house dress code."

Emily shot a grin at him as she walked to the dresser. "It could be."

She heard the bed move as he climbed off it, and wasn't the least bit surprised when an arm wrapped around her middle, and his breath hit her ear. "If we weren't so worn-out already, I might try and test that theory that you can get a woman to orgasm just by touching her breasts."

She turned and pressed her mouth to his, then looked up at him with a naughty smirk. "If we weren't so worn-out I might let you."

Derek chuckled and pressed a kiss to her temple. "I love you," he said, before pulling away, so she could dress.

Still naked, Emily pecked him on the lips. "I love you too."

He pulled the curtains over the windows – the blackout kind, something that had been non-negotiable for her – while she changed into pajamas. Then he laid their sleepy daughter in the bassinette and sat on the nearby edge of the bed until her eyes slipped closed.

His mother would arrive in two days, after they'd had time to adjust and settle into a routine. Emily was looking forward to seeing the woman, and to the help with cooking, cleaning and the baby. Clyde had called while she was at the hospital, relieved that she was okay. He'd been in the states tomorrow, and would stop in and check on them. Today though and tonight, that was all for them to just relax and revel in the fact that they were all home and healthy, that their daughter had survived her barn-birth, and that Emily had as well.

Emily stretched her still achy body, and wandered over to the bed. Derek had already climbed in on his side, his eyes still on their sleeping baby. She shut off the last light, and crawled into bed beside him. They shared another kiss and then both turned on their sides, facing the baby, Emily shimmying back to meet him, and Derek wrapping his body around hers.

He pressed a kiss to the back of her neck. "We've got what, an hour and a half until she wakes-up for food again?"

She snorted. "If we're lucky."

And that was it, their nightmare was over.

* * *

_Thank you all very much for the reviews, favorites and follows! _

_And good news, I should be posting the first part of the sequel to "Big Words" this weekend, so be on the look-out for it._


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